KCRag Forum

BNIM is the architect.  Aren't they the ones who design the ugliest building in Kansas City, the Ronald McDonald House?  You're screwed.

Is Volker NA for or against this ?

As a resident on Mercier I am delighted to see such a diverse urban mix project going in at Loretto. Done well, it can only help our neighborhood.

Owner of Loretto Academy wedded to $15M renovation

John Bregin Jr. said he hopes to start construction next year in the century-old building on 39th Street near Roanoke Road. The Loretto Redevelopment Corp.'s president said work will be done in phases. He hasn't set a completion date for an outlay that could reach $15 million.

The hotel would convert 39 existing apartments and take additional space in the onetime girls' school for 60 to 110 rooms. Weekend business would come from weddings. Bregin, who has booked almost 100 weddings a year in each of the past six years, said as much as 40 percent of this business is from out of town....

Plans also call for about 40 new apartments to be built. Each would contain about 1,100 square feet, almost three times the size of existing studios.

thedream wrote: As a resident on Mercier I am delighted to see such a diverse urban mix project going in at Loretto. Done well, it can only help our neighborhood.

Wait till the Hotel gets in full swing. We'll see how much you'll be liking this project. It'll bring in the added noise.

The Loretto redevelopment project gets go ahead from court

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... a=e_du_pub

Volker Neighborhood Association newsletter mentioned a proposal to convert the Loretto to a boutique hotel will be discussed at the next NA meeting.

Any word on if that would still include the new construction residential component?

The developers and local architect (Hufft) of the proposed hotel spoke last night at the Volker Neighborhood Association meeting and gave more details about the development. They have the building under contract while they look at various configurations of the property - developer said they hoped to close over the summer, but would be 'a while' until they started any work; all current resident leases would be honored. These are the people that own and renovated Chase Park Plaza in St Louis, and reference Hotel Sorella and The Raphael as the level of hotel they would bring.

The building would feature around 120 rooms, with the lobby in the back, under the chapel (where the auditorium is). Bar and restaurant would be in the back near the pump house, with spillover into an outdoor area they hope would also be frequented by neighbors. Furnishings would reflect KC heritage and style appeared to kind of industrial chic, but warm and upscale. The residential aspect along Mercier has been dropped, but they are looking at a standalone fitness center and outdoor pool (both available to neighbors) immediately to the west of the main building, but not abutting Mercier.

The property under contract includes an empty lot to the south along 40th, and all but two properties to the southeast and east, including a surface lot across Roanoke that is currently used by Center for Spiritual Living. They would determine future use for the lot later, but will rehab and rent out the other properties.

I only live half a block from the Loretto and am excited about this being a game-changer for the neighborhood.

kcjak wrote:The residential aspect along Mercier has been dropped, but they are looking at a standalone fitness center and outdoor pool (both available to neighbors) immediately to the west of the main building, but not abutting Mercier.

The property under contract includes an empty lot to the south along 40th, and all but two properties to the southeast and east, including a surface lot across Roanoke that is currently used by Center for Spiritual Living. They would determine future use for the lot later, but will rehab and rent out the other properties.

It's disappointing that they dropped the residential aspect. The demand is definitely there for more apartments in Volker - and this project will be eliminating units.

I really hope the lot that CSL uses will get developed soon. It is a major eyesore.

It looks like CSL owns the building to the west of them that appears vacant. Do they actually use that for anything? Would love to see that redeveloped as well.


Midtown KC Post article on the development:
http://midtownkcpost.com/dallas-develop ... xperience/

Agree - that boarded up CSL building needs to at the very least be torn down. I heard a couple of years ago that CSL didn't want to spend the money demolishing it required expensive asbestos removal. But I also heard an unsubstantiated rumor from a neighboring property owner that there were plans for a two-story mixed use development.

KCtoBrooklyn wrote:

kcjak wrote:The residential aspect along Mercier has been dropped, but they are looking at a standalone fitness center and outdoor pool (both available to neighbors) immediately to the west of the main building, but not abutting Mercier.

The property under contract includes an empty lot to the south along 40th, and all but two properties to the southeast and east, including a surface lot across Roanoke that is currently used by Center for Spiritual Living. They would determine future use for the lot later, but will rehab and rent out the other properties.

It's disappointing that they dropped the residential aspect. The demand is definitely there for more apartments in Volker - and this project will be eliminating units.

I really hope the lot that CSL uses will get developed soon. It is a major eyesore.

It looks like CSL owns the building to the west of them that appears vacant. Do they actually use that for anything? Would love to see that redeveloped as well.


Midtown KC Post article on the development:
http://midtownkcpost.com/dallas-develop ... xperience/

What's occupancy been like for the current Loretto apartments? I lived there for a year when it first turned residential (around 15 years ago), and it was relatively full. Looking at the parking lot over the past five years, it doesn't look like it's been near-capacity. I'm not saying the demand isn't there in Volker - just curious what the current place has been doing. I'm sure 5 years of rumors about it turning into something else haven't helped.

At the meeting they said it 'wasn't near full' whatever that means. There were a LOT of seniors at the meeting who were current residents, and one senior who had just signed a lease in April (hadn't moved in yet) and hadn't been notified of the possible conversion. It's actually become sort of a dead zone in the neighborhood, not much activity except for weddings on the weekends.

On a side note, they've been renting out two parking areas to KU Med and have a shuttle going all day long.

i heard from a source who said that this deal has fallen through due to the stipulations the Historical Society placed on renovating the building. Sad - the neighborhood association and numerous business owners in the area I talked to were wanting this development to proceed. I'm afraid the property is going to continue to languish.

These neighborhood associations are just getting awful, I'm sick of them all. They are making HOA's in the burbs look laid back

brewcrew1000 wrote:These neighborhood associations are just getting awful, I'm sick of them all. They are making HOA's in the burbs look laid back

brewcrew1000 wrote:These neighborhood associations are just getting awful, I'm sick of them all. They are making HOA's in the burbs look laid back

He said the issue was with the Historical Society - the neighborhood association was on board.

Does the city have to give this degree of weight to the opinion of any of these quasi-governmental organizations? I don't think so. Am I wrong?

Yes, you are wrong. The Historical Society – or whatever kcjak is referring to – cannot dictate what a developer does with a property. Some developments simply don't make sense without the use of Historic Tax Credits as a financing tool. The National Parks Service has a set of guidelines known as Standards for Rehabilitation and if the project doesn't meet those guidelines, along with some other rules, they are not eligible for the tax credits. There are state and federal tax credits available to eligible projects and they are fairly laborious, not real easy to get and are constantly being threatened, especially at the state level. Many of our rehabilitated historic structures would not be standing without them. Some Historic Rehabs are completed simply for the tax advantages, others are out of passion are only possible with the tax credits.

Yesterday I noticed the Loretto and about a half dozen adjacent homes all had signs staked in front of the properties - each had a pink paper stating the property was delinquent on taxes. I've never seen this before - is this normal when an entity defaults on their taxes?

yes. Tax sale coming up in august.